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SeaClan: Rising Waters
This is the second book in the SeaClan Series. 'Chapter One' Blood. There were pools of blood everywhere. Wavecrest was drowning in it, suffocating, not able to breathe. He thrashed about in the scarlet river, his head popping up into the air, gulping it in, trying to rid himself of the horrid coppery taste. Suddenly, a pair of invisible claws scraped down his face, like a giant bird was raking its talons across his eyes. Screaming in pain, Wavecrest writhed about, suddenly finding hard ground under him. "Arise, young one. You are needed by SeaClan. Your time has not yet come." Looking up, he gazed into a pair of eyes he had never dreamed of seeing again. "Crowfang..." he rasped. "Yes, son," his father said. "You and Bluebreeze have an important destiny ahead of you. Much too great to be lost. Go back to your Clan, to her. You will not die." "Wait! I need more than that! What are these strange cats? How could Blackwind do this?" "The only answers available are within yourself," Crowfang said. Wavecrest's heart ached as the dark tom began to dissapate. After moons of thinking StarClan had abandoned them, this was like a bittersweet experience. '' ''"Within me..." he said. "I'll do it. I'll save SeaClan. No rogues will take it. I am a warrior. This is what I do." Opening his eyes was like lifting a two-ton boulder with one paw. He nearly groaned with the effort, but he got it done. "Wavecrest?" An incredulous whisper came from behind him. Turning, he nearly screamed at the pain that lanced through his ribs, which were encased in a splint made of thick palm leaves. It was worth it to see her though. Bluebreeze. His sister. At first her face was a mask of shock, but then incredible joy surfaced, and she was at his side in a single bound. "You're awake." Her voice was muffled by his fur as she pushed her nose into his neck. "You're okay." He nodded weakly. "How long was I unconcious?" She shuffled her paws. "Almost two days. You're lucky you're even alive." Opening his mouth to shout out in disbelief, Wavecrest found himself too weak to even force sound out. The den began spinning; he leaned back in his nest, pain throbbing through his body. "Ugh..." Concern sparked Bluebreeze's gaze. "Take it easy," she said gently. "It'll take some time to recover from this." "You're telling me. Where am I?" She gestured to the herb-stuffed crannies and niches around them. "Greensmoke's den. He's out gathering herbs under the jag-fang." She winced as she said the last word, and he vaguely remembered her shouting something to Blackwind about trying to kill her... Blackwind. Talon. "Did you catch them? Blackwind and Talon?" Pain filled his sister's features, though she managed to push it away quickly. "No. They ran, like the cowards they were. I had to get help for you; I'm sorry I let them get away." He gave a feeble snort. "You're apologizing for saving my life?" She smiled thinly. "I'll go get you some prey." As she approached the door, her blue eyes widened, and the hint of a smile played on her lips. "Meanwhile, you have another visitor." "Who?" Wavecrest frowned, but she was already gone. There was the soft sound of timid pawsteps; he craned his neck to see the cat that had just entered the medicine cat's den. When he saw who it was, a warm flush shot through his body. "Hey Nutfeather." The small brown she-cat smiled at him, her eyes shining. "Thank StarClan you're finally awake." "I'm pretty glad about that too," he said as she trotted over to him. Her sweet scent washed over him, somehow managing to dull the pain in the rest of his body. She giggled quietly. "I brought some soaked moss, in case you're thirsty." "Thanks," he said, noticing for the first time how dry and hoarse his throat was. He lapped at the moss eagerly. Nutfeather watched him fondly. "Well, I'd better go." "No! Wait," he said sheepishly, blinking back embarrassment. "Stay a little bit, if you want." Her face lit up. "Okay." She sat down against a wall, her gaze travelling around the den. There were a few minutes of awkward silence before he cleared his throat and said, "Uh... Thanks again. Not just for the water, but... you know. For visiting me." Inwardly, he cursed himself for sounding like such an idiot. Luckily, she didn't seem to mind. Either that or she had really low standards for toms. "No problem. I- I mean Bluebreeze- I mean, everyone, was really worried about you." "Ah, well I'll be okay now," he said, gazing ruefully at his bandaged ribs. She took a step closer, her scent washing warmly over him. "I'll keep you company for as long as you like." As he leaned back, he closed his eyes and thought, This is nice. I could get used to this. 'Chapter Two' "Bluebreeze? Are you okay?" Turning, Bluebreeze saw her apprentice, Sharkpaw, standing there nervously. His blue eyes were kind but hesitant. She smiled at him and padded over. "I'm fine, Sharkpaw. Thanks for asking." She frowned. "Shouldn't you be playing or training with Turtlepaw?" His face clouded over, and his eyes turned to the horizon. "She's with Pinefeather, her mom." There was a trace of bitterness in his voice, and understanding dawned on Bluebreeze. She laid her tail on the young tom's back comfortingly. "You can't blame her for spending time with her mother, Sharkpaw." "I know," he sighed. "But she never seems to have time for me anymore." He looked surprised, as if he hadn't intended to say so much. "How much do you care?" Bluebreeze asked softly. He blushed deeply, opened his mouth, closed it, and didn't answer. She could've told him a thing or two about romance, but she didn't want to spoil it for her apprentice. Besides, Turtlepaw was nothing like Blackwind. Blackwind. ''Just the thought of his name sent a deep pang of pain slicing through her heart. After he'd disappeared with Talon, and Wavecrest had been taken to the medicine cat's den, she had wandered down to the beach, fighting her emotions. When she'd seen the jag-fang though, she had broken down in deep, brokenhearted sobs. She couldn't help it. ''How could I have been so stupid? How could I fall so hard, so quickly, and then be crushed even faster? Generally, Bluebreeze considered herself sensible around toms. So how had Blackwind - or Carl, or whatever he wanted to call himself - found his way into her heart so quickly? "Anyway," Sharkpaw said, a little more briskly. "When can we start training again?" A guilty look flashed across his face. "Not to hurry you or anything. I understand that after what happened to Wavecrest-" "No problem," she reassured him. "How about tomorrow?" His face lit up; she guessed he was glad to have something to do. "Sure!" Hearing voices, they both turned and saw Pinefeather, Tidestar, and Turtlepaw coming down the cliff path. Bluebreeze couldn't remember the last time she had seen her leader so happy, without lines of worry or weariness on his face. The three cats were the picture of the perfect family. Turtlepaw saw them, waved, but didn't come over. Sharkpaw's eyes briefly lit up as he spotted her, then darkened once more as she headed towards the fresh-kill pile with her parents. Shrugging, he got up and began walking towards the apprentices' den. Bluebreeze watched him go, then turned her gaze back out to sea. The waves were rough and choppy, but maybe they held some answer that her maelstrom of a life had whipped away. Excitement mingled with relief as Bluebreeze stood outside Greensmoke's den, waiting for her brother to come out. When Wavecrest did limp out, she frowned worriedly at his pale face and clenched jaw. "Are you sure he's ready to head back to the warrior's den?" she asked the medicine cat. Before Greensmoke could reply, Wavecrest cut in. "The Clan needs me. I'll be fine." "And you won't be doing any border patrols for a while; only light duties like minor hunting," Greensmoke amended. Wavecrest muttered an unintelligible response. "Don't be stubborn," Bluebreeze told her brother. He gave her a smile. "I'll see you around," he mewed, licking her on the cheek. "Don't you want help settling in?" "Nah," he said, suddenly taking on the appearance of a buzzard who just discovered a giant roadkill all to himself. "Nutfeather offered to help." He gestured to where the pretty cocoa-furred she-cat was waiting, and began hobbling towards her. Bluebreeze was grateful to her friend, but she couldn't prevent a stab of irritation. So this was how Sharkpaw felt. Abandoned and cast away by everyone. Before she could get too lonely, Coralfish came towards her. "Tidestar would like to see you in his den," she said. "Me?" Bluebreeze asked in surprise. The deputy nodded. "It's about Talon." She raised her eyebrows and followed Coralfish towards Tidestar's den. Pinefeather was curled up beside her mate; she gave Bluebreeze a warm smile, which she returned to the pretty she-cat. "How may I help you, Tidestar?" she mewed politely. The leader's sky-blue eyes wouldn't meet hers. "Bluebreeze, have you ever heard the phrase 'two can play that game'?" Rather confusedly, she said, "Yes, I believe so. Why?" "You don't have to do this if you don't want to, Bluebreeze," Pinefeather cut in. Her expression was warm and sympathetic. Tidestar nodded in agreement. "We wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable. But you see, out of all the cats in SeaClan, you were the closest to Carl - Blackwind. And he might listen to you if you try to befriend him again. If anything, he might spare you long enough for you to discover a few things about Talon and his group." When Bluebreeze remained silent, he added, "You'd go on your mission with a backup patrol, to protect you in case things went wrong." She still didn't say anything. "It's all right if you'd rather not do it. We can always find another way of-" "No." Bluebreeze took a deep breath, hoping she wouldn't regret this. Maybe some good could come out of her and Blackwind's relationship after all. She could betray him like he'd betrayed her, and do it for her Clan. "I'll do it." 'Chapter Three' "Wavecrest? Exactly where do you think you're going?" Wavecrest froze on the downwards path towards the beach, Turtlepaw by his side. "I need to go train Turtlepaw," he explained to Greensmoke, who was storming towards him. "I'm fine; besides, it wouldn't be fair for her to miss out on training because of... well, nothing really. Because I'm perfectly healthy." The medicine cat studied him suspiciously. "Fine. But if you feel any symptoms-" Interrupting, Wavecrest mewed, "Okay, thanks!" He and Turtlepaw turned and raced down the cliffside path. Turtlepaw laughed as they reached the beach, their paws touching down on the soft sand. "You're going to be in trouble for that later," she told him, flicking her tail as they padded towards the sandy training pit. Wavecrest just laughed and cleared the training area of waterlogged seaweed. "Less talk, more training." "Which is code for, 'I know, but I don't want to feel like a kit; I have to be a big bad kitty'?" she taunted. With mock anger, Wavecrest crouched down and sprang at her. "That's it, missy! You're going down!" He bulldozed her into the sand and pinned her down. Letting out a shriek, Turtlepaw pummeled his chest with her paws. They chased each other around the training ring like a pair of kits. After being locked up in the medicine cat's den, it felt good to stretch his legs. Finally, Wavecrest stopped, panting. "Okay. Let's get to actual training." Crouching in the sand, Turtlepaw turned her little pink nose up. "Hmph. I thought you'd never stop wasting so much time." The cool air smelled like saltwater and ocean spray from Wavecrest's vantage point up on the cliffside. Greensmoke had nearly had a coronary after seeing him and Turtlepaw's play-fighting, and had ordered him to stay in camp for the rest of the day. Through pleading and begging, Wavecrest had narrowly avoided being sentenced back to the medicine cat's den. Bored out of his head - and feeling completely useless as he watched his work-worn Clanmates hurrying to and fro along the cliff path - he kicked a loose pebble off the rock ledge and watched it plummet to the beach below. Behind him, he heard a noise; instantly, he licked a paw and smoothed down the irritating clump of fur on his forehead; for some reason, he thought it was Nutfeather behind him, and he wanted to look good. It wasn't though, it was Bluebreeze, a plump gull clenched in her jaws. "Hey," he greeted her warmly. She returned the greeting, but her words were muffled by the gull. "Pah!" She spat it out, along with several downy white feathers. "Share?" Hiding a grin of amusement, Wavecrest mewed, "Sure." They began to eat. He noticed that Bluebreeze's eyes kept straying to the horizon, a faraway look entering their glistening depths. Knowing his sister, she was thinking about something big, if it made her lose focus; she normally had a one-track mind. "Is something wrong?" Her reply took a while, as if she was deciding how much to tell him. Then she leaned her head against his shoulder and exhaled a single word. "Everything." 'Chapter Four' By the time Bluebreeze was done pouring out everything to Wavecrest - she'd started with how Blackwind had saved her life(though she hadn't given her brother too many details about their relationship) and ended with Tidestar's plan - she was already feeling better. Somehow, getting everything out there lightened a load she hadn't realized she'd been carrying. After she was done, Wavecrest was silent for a moment. His navy eyes were completely serious as he gazed at her. "That's a tough decision, but I think you made the right choice." "I know. But I still hate myself for it." Her brother shook his head. "Look Bluebreeze, it's for the Clan. You're doing what's right for SeaClan. Besides, Blackwind did the same to you." Instinctively, she flinched at the sound of his name. Then she laid her head against Wavecrest's shoulder. "I guess you're right. It's hard... but I have to believe I'm making the right decision." The two curled up together for a while, listening to the sound of each other's heartbeats. For once, Bluebreeze felt relaxed and secure, surrounded by her brother's familiar scent. Everything around her was quicksand, but Wavecrest was her one solid rock in life. With his voice muffled by her fur, he said, "When do you start your mission?" "As soon as we find where the rogues are camped out. Springtail and Goldshell are working on it." Right at that instant, the two named cats emerged. Springtail took a step toward them. "Bluebreeze? We've found them. It's time."